Love and Loss
by obscurewriter05
Summary: Jet and Droy's view on Levy's disappearance during the Tenrou Island Arc. Posted on Tumblr for Fairy Tail Side Character Appreciation Week.


Jet and Droy had been best friends for as long as anyone, themselves included, could remember. They were inseparable and really only ever fought over one thing - Levy. Levy was their leader, smart, funny, sweet, and more capable than she looked and they worshipped at her feet. Both loved her dearly, would do anything for her, but she looked at them both like brothers which is why they could remain such good friends, because Levy never chose between them. This only made them love her more.

On this particular day in Magnolia, the two were without their beloved leader and they felt a little lonely without her there. In fact, they hadn't seen Levy in a few years, not since she went to Tenrou Island. They both knew what happened there, or at least what they were told happened, but that didn't mean they didn't miss her anyway.

"Do you think she's still alive?" Droy asked, looking out over the ocean.

Jet thumped him on the back of his head.

"Of course she's still alive, moron. Levy would never leave us without saying goodbye."

Droy grinned, "You're right. Levy was nicer than that. Do you think she misses us?'

Jet nodded, "We're her guys, of course she misses us."

Droy felt better after that, smiling as they walked. Without Levy, the two felt a little lost, but they made due where they could. Entering their guild, they looked around to see the few faces that had managed to stay on. The place looked grim and the two sighed heavily as they sat down, trying not to think about the good old days when Fairy Tail was number one.

"This year pa says we're going to compete in the Grand Magic Games," Romeo announced to the them.

Ever since Natsu and the others had gone on that fated trip and never returned Romeo had been hanging out with the remaining two members of Shadow Gear. They didn't ask why, they knew. Romeo worshipped Natsu as much as they worshipped Levy and without their gods to lead them they banded together to heal the pain.

The older two exchanged glances, "After our humiliating defeat last year?"

Romeo grinned, "I'm all fired up now!"

The three fell silent at that. Once it would have elicited laughter from the guild, now it just made them sad, remembering those they had lost. Romeo sniffed and the two older boys looked at him in alarm as he rubbed his face furiously.

"Sorry, just sometimes I miss them all."

"We all do," Laki said, putting a hand on Romeo's shoulder as she walked by.

Jet and Droy nodded, "Levy especially."

Romeo almost rolled his eyes, but then he remembered how it must feel for those two, who had followed Levy as he had followed Natsu, and instead he nodded sadly.

A few hours later Jet and Droy left the guild, finding there was no work for them to do today. In fact the request board had been getting emptier each day as jobs were taken and no new ones came in to replace the old ones. Though no one wanted to face it yet, Fairy Tail was losing it's clients.

Surprisingly, the only one who really seemed to have consistent work was Laki. Her wood-make magic was always in demand as things were constantly being built, but even that had slowed since the decline. Jet and Droy sighed miserably as they made their way back to the apartment they shared.

"If Levy were here, she'd know what to do," Droy said after a few moments.

"If Levy were here then the rest of the guild would be here and we wouldn't be in this mess," Jet snapped, then sighed. "I'm sorry, Droy."

Droy patted his back gently, "It's okay, Jet. I know you have a lot on your mind."

Jet smiled gratefully at his best friend, thankful that he at least got to keep Droy. The two entered their apartment, sighing.

"Hey Levy," The said in unison at the corkboard they kept by the door.

On the board were all the pictures they had captured of Levy throughout the years. Some only had her in them, others had the whole team, somehow they had even managed to find a few of her and Lucy together and they quickly chimed in a 'Hey Luce.' to the board as well so the blonde didn't feel left out.

A part of them knew this was ridiculous behavior because saying 'hello' to a photo isn't going to bring the people in it back, nor could the people hear them, but they ignored that part. The pictures helped to make them feel closer to the ones they lost. They sighed heavily, wondering if their missing friends would ever come back or if they were really dead as the Council had told them.

* * *

Time passed as it must and Fairy Tail fell further and further into disrepair. Macoa was a good master, but he wasn't Makarov and the guild felt it keenly each and every day. Slowly the remaining members gave up hope that their missing friends would ever come home until the only ones that were left to believe were Romeo and the two remaining Shadow Gear members.

Jet and Dory sat with Romeo on the pier, watching the ocean.

"After all, they gotta come in from that way, right?" Romeo answered when they asked him why he sat there each day. The two exchanged concerned looks, nodding in agreement.

From then on they sat with him, all three on the look out for someone who might have come from where Tenrou Island used to be.

"We get why Romeo does it," Laki said one day, looking at the two. "But we don't understand why you two do. You know they're gone, they're not coming back. Romeo can't accept that because he's still a boy, but why can't you two?"

Jet and Droy glared at the wood-make wizard, "If they don't come back, then Levy doesn't come back. Without Levy there is no sunshine, no color. So she has to come back."

Laki sighed, sitting beside them.

"I miss them, too," She whispered, looking at her hands. "I know I didn't spend a lot of time with anyone that went over there, but that doesn't mean I don't notice they're gone. They were always good to me and without them the place just seems so quiet. Levy and Lucy, especially, were always so sweet to me. They always offered to include me into their girl nights. Even though I usually refused, I still appreciated that they thought enough of me to include me. They were good girls."

"Oui," Reedus agreed, sadly as he worked on another picture. "Mira, too."

The four shared a sad look at that. Mira was everyone's favorite and without her the guild felt like it had died, too. Warren looked over at them, sadly, having heard their conversation. He also missed the ones that had left. For a long time the five sat in silence, wishing for their guild mates.

"The Grand Magic Games are coming up," Laki said to break the silence.

"Yeah, Romeo says that we're not going to participate this year," Jet sighed. "Macao doesn't want us to after our humiliating defeat last time."

The guild fell quiet again, reflecting on that defeat that put them dead last. If only those who had gone to Tenrou Island had been there they might have had a chance. Everyone thought it and quickly shoved it to the back of their minds, remembering what the Magic Council had told them about the Island being gone.

* * *

Jet and Droy continued on with their normal routine, but as the seventh year approached they began to realize that without Levy the thing that held their team together was gone. Strange considering that they didn't even want the pixie to join their team in the first place. Things had gone from bad to worse after Droy's outburst about Levy never coming back at the beginning of the year. No longer did they sit down at the docks with Romeo, Droy had given up all hope, and Jet was starting to doubt as well. After seven years it was hard not to.

Then Ichiya had arrived, informing them that Tenrou Island still existed and everything changed.

Now here they were, a boat in the middle of an ocean looking for an island that was supposed to have been blown into dust by Acnologia. And they couldn't have been happier about it either. Dancing around the boat, yelling about how excited they were to see their precious leader once more, you wouldn't know that only weeks ago Droy had given up all hope of seeing her again and that Jet had also been starting to doubt her survival. They were surprised out of their euphoria when Warren calmly reminded them that even if the island was still intact, that didn't mean that the people on there would still be alive. They had to be prepared for the worst while hoping for the best.

Right about then the air grew still and all sound stopped. Jet and Droy looked at each other nervously, wondering what could be happening. It seemed so strange. Then in the distance they saw a woman standing on the water, a small smile on her face as she lifted her arms and the area under her began to glow a bright golden color. Gold pillars shot into the sky as the water below them began to glow and the wind picked up. Out of the water rose something green. Once it was high enough they could see the Fairy Tail Emblem upon the water, glowing brightly within the sphere it had formed. Higher still, then Tenrou Island became clear to them all as the sphere dissolved and the island settled upon the ocean, spraying water down like rain upon the ship that looked on it.

The girl moved toward the island and others pursued, landing and chasing after her until she disappeared. Jet picked up the speed, chasing after her, but he still had no sight of her when he found the first survivor. Mavis - who, they discovered, was the girl who lead them here - helped them find the remaining members. The two male members of Shadow Gear were so excited to see their beloved leader they hugged each other as she watched on, Pantherlily sitting in her lap.

Neither of them would tell her the truth. Neither of them would ever mention that they had, at one point or another, thought she was dead. They couldn't admit such a weakness. Nor would they ever tell her about the board they kept by their door as a reminder of the woman they both had loved and lost. That, they agreed, would be their little secret


End file.
